Early Morning Sunlight
by surforst
Summary: A Father's Day story. [OneShot]


_"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."_

-- Mark Twain

**Early Morning Sunlight**

I.

"I need to lose some weight." Robert Stoppable sighed as he checked out his growing midsection while waiting for the traffic light to change. His overly large midsection was barely illuminated by the raising rays of the early morning sun which was still attempting to beat back the darkness of night. Looking back he checked to see that the light was still unchanged as his eye then drifted to the trees in front of him. Rays of sunlight streamed through the assembled green mass of life as the leaves gently moved in the early morning wind. He imagined the birds were already busy chirping away though the radio was currently drowning out that sound. He had noticed that lately he had come to enjoy sitting out listening to the birds chirp though for some reason he always left the radio on whenever taking this drive. It being Father's Day he could still hear commercials telling lazy children to buy something for their father.

"They really need to fix the timing on that light..." Like clockwork the light changed from red to green as it had for the last few years. It was always after he made his complaint. Smiling Robert Stoppable lifted his foot from the brake pedal and gently applied pressure to the gas pedal gradually working the car up to speed. She was a little old at this point but he had yet to see a reason to buy a new one. After all this car was still running, even though it was twenty plus years, with only a little bit of maintenance needed. Besides he had bought it with Ronald and he knew his son had a good eye. After all he had managed to get Kimberly to marry him though it also helped he was a Stoppable. It was a confirmed fact that no woman could resist a Stoppable.

"On the top of the news the trial of the former head of Global..." Robert hand came forward with anger switching the radio over to another station before the announcer could finish. They should have just put a bullet in that woman's head instead of going through the joke of a trial that the international community instead on. Clenching his teeth he put on his left turn signal as he merged into the left lane. It was best not to think of such things on Father's Day. Instead he focused on memories of previous father's days and one such memory in particular came to mind for some reason. It wasn't even his favorite Father's Day but for some reason it was the one that occupied his thoughts.

II.

Robert Stoppable was a simple man. He enjoyed sleeping in on Sundays before a rousing afternoon of television watching and in particular he liked to catch up on tapped television episodes he was unable to catch over the week. It was therefore with a shocked start that he was snatched out of his pleasant dreams when his bed started to bounce up and down. Opening his eyes he saw two young children staring back at him a set of green eyes and brown twinkling with mirth as two large smiles spilt their faces. Frowning he racked his sleep fogged mind trying to recall who these two were. With a start he remembered the blond hair boy was his one and only son but the red headed girl escaped him. Then his blood ran cold. 'Oh God one of my many adventures of my youth has come back to haunt me!'

This alarm only lasted a while as his more rational side assured him that none of his 'many' adventures could have possibly resulted in a red headed girl, let alone any other unknown child, sitting on the bed in front of him. Instead his mind reminded him that there must be a more logical explanation for this but for the life of him he couldn't recall. God he needed his coffee.

"Happy Father's day!" The two children cried out at once bouncing in even more excitement as they looked at him. Now he knew the boy was seven and the girl looked about the same age. Maybe his wife had some explaining to do.

"Daddy, me and KP made breakfast!" Robert blinked his memory jogged by the familiar nickname used by his son. Kimberly Anne Possible was the name that had escaped him and the fact that she was simply his son's best pal and hopefully his future daughter-in-law. After all it was hard enough to keep track of people as it was without adding more faces. Simplicity was what he favored.

Groaning he scratched his head as he sat up looking at the two kids and the very burnt meal they were currently holding. "Kimberly shouldn't you be over at your house celebrating with your father and Ronald where's your mother didn't she help out?"

He noticed the twin frowns on both of the kids faces as the looked between each other. It was Kimberly who spoke first. "Mr. Stoppable don't you remember that my daddy is in that Star State and Mrs. Stoppable is away."

"On a metal birdie!" Robert looked at his son, after his helpful attempt to add to his friend's statement, as he racked his brain. First off he had no idea where Mr. Possible was or frankly cared the man was just a little too odd for him. Too much into new age equipment for his taste. It was with a groan he recalled the fact that his wife was currently on a business trip in New York. Being stuck alone with two hyper kids this early in the morning was not on his planned list of things to do. Well a father sometimes had to do what a father has to do.

"Alright let me make you two breakfast and we can figure out what's going on. Now scoot." Like a shot both figures were off racing down the steps.

III.

Robert wanted to cry with joy as he drank the rich cup of coffee, generously put in a thermos by Kimberly's mother also know as the saint of Middleton, as he looked at the meal in front of him. At first he had questioned the contents of the burnt meal, and wondered if he should call to apologize to Mrs. Possible about the obvious mess Ronald made of her kitchen, but the eggs had proven to be surprisingly good. As for the toast well he had always favored it burnt anyway. "So which one of you two cooked this?"

He looked at the two kids who were busy munching away at their twin bowls of cereal. It was Kimberly who looked up a smile on her face. "Ron cooked it! He's going to be a chief!" His son just blushed at that comment.

"KP's mom helped out."

Robert took another bite of the egg nodding his head as he ate. "You did a good job son."

He noticed the grin on his boy's face before he hopped of the chair and raced out of the room. Frowning he looked over at the red headed kid but noticed that she was soon following her friend out into the rest of the house. Shrugging his shoulders Robert continued to eat his meal before picking up the paper to read the latest headlines and see what the government was doing with his hard earned tax dollars.

"Government officials say that the golden plane bought by Global Justice was for necessary reasons in order to test the possibility of gold airplanes being brought into service." After reading that line all he could do was shake his head.

He didn't even finish with the article and its further examples of wasted money on that failure of a UN program when the two kids came racing back into the kitchen. He noticed Ronald was holding something behind his back but instead of coming forward he hung back a bit. It was Kim who nudged him in the side. "Go ahead Ron."

Walking up Robert's son shuffled his feet on the floor as he looked up at him. Finally seeming to build up the courage Ronald brought a piece of paper out from behind his back and held it up to Robert. Looking down Robert noticed it seemed to be a crude stick figure drawing of various figures. Looking back down into two sets of eager brown eyes he gave a gentle smile and pointed at the picture. "Did you draw this Ronald?"

His son nodded as he looked back towards his friend. "Yeah but KP helped too."

"It was mostly Ron though Mr. Stoppable." Nodding his head Robert smiled at Ron's friend before looking back at the picture.

It was the standard crude drawing one could expect from a child Ronald's age though he was sure he detected a bit more skill in it then what was usual for a child Ronald's age. He was sure it showed that his son had a hidden talent for these things and maybe a possible future in drawing. After all he was far superior to his peers except for that Mankey kid's art work he saw that one day. Kid was too good at drawing and with a last name that close to monkey he was sure that he wasn't normal. He just plain got bad vibes from that kid.

Studying the image closer he saw that it had four figures on it. One was a stick figure in a dress holding a phone like thing to her ear while another larger figure was standing near a box of some sort with little waves coming out of his mouth. Two smaller figures were off to the side doing something he couldn't figure out. Smiling he pointed at the figure with the phone. "Is this your mother Ronald?"

His son nodded at the comment a smile coming to his face. "Yeah that's mommy talking on the phone and that's you shouting at the T.V. like you always do when those boring guys come on." He chuckled at the truth of that statement as his son pointed towards the smaller figures. "And that's me and KP playing on the floor."

Robert grinned at the way the young girl was naturally included in a family picture drawn by Ronald before patting his son on the head. "Thank you Ronald I'll make sure to put it on the fridge so your mother can see it too. Now what do you kids want to do today?"

Both kids grinned at that as they looked at Robert. "Watch Dino hour!" Robert suppressed a shudder at that knowing he'd be sentence to a couple of hours of watching overly happy actors running around in dinosaur costumes while that Sur something fellow complained about whatever he complained about. It was an odd show to say the least but it entertained the kids.

"Alright and after that how about I take you two out for ice cream and a movie?" Both kids nodded with excitement as they headed for the living room. Taking a seat on the couch Robert turned on the T.V. and put it on one of the few stations he actually got. He still refused to switch over to cable after all why spend the money on something that wouldn't last.

"Frankly mister T-Rex I just don't believe you exist." Both kids broke out laughing as soon as that one cranky guy in the middle said his line. Robert just shook his head as the episode continued content to just sit there and watch the kids on the floor. How long before his son would finally be able to buy him a cruise for Father's Day was the burning question in his mind.

IV.

Robert stopped the car along the path in the spot he always stopped in. It was a good spot to park with the tree there to provide shade and an easy walk towards where his son was. No matter when he came it was also always open. Navigating his way through the maze of markers he made his way to one in particular before kneeling down. "Hey son it's me again. Just thought I should come by and check on you."

Scanning the area he noted the fresh flowers laid out nearby a clear sign that Kimberly had come by before him. No matter how early he left she always seemed to make it here first and leave before he got here. She was always one for a time table after all. "Well I see Kimberly came by and probably brought the kids too. You'd be happy to know that their doing good at the moment." His eyes scanned over the marker noting that his son's name still showed up clearly though his eyes refused to even pause long enough over the date to read it. It was a foolish thing after all he could recite it by memory without reading it. Maybe though he just didn't like the remainder.

Glancing up at the clear blue sky and the white clouds drifting by he paused long enough to inhale the fresh air around him. "You know son this really is a good place glad Kimberly picked it out. God knows I'm helpless when it comes to these things." Yet another line he said every single time. With a chuckle he looked back towards the stone marker. "Did Katie tell you about what Michael did for her?"

Robert paused, waiting for a reply that never came before waving his hand in a grand gesture. "Michael actually managed to pull some string and get her into the second seat on one of those two seater jets the military has. God knows what it was though I'm sure he could probably explain it to me but boy was she excited. Couldn't stop talking about it for weeks after it happened even called me and your mother several times to relate the story to us. You'd be proud of her though because each time she called the story grew grander and grander. I'm still waiting for her to tell us how she single handily saved the free nations of the world when the pilot lost consciousness and next time I visit I'll make sure to tells you about it." Pausing he looked at the marker his smile lessening slightly but not fading. "It was good to see her smile Ronald and it was good to see a smile on Kimberly's face."

Studying his hand Robert paused for a moment just resting there before continuing. "She's a lot like you two you know. I just don't mean in her looks but in the way she acts. You know she runs around every time Michael visits opening up doors for the poor guy you'd think he wasn't able to walk the way she acts." Despite himself he winced at that statement after all it was because of his granddaughter and daughter-in-law that the young man had come so close to being confined to a wheel chair the rest of his life. If not for that cowardly old man from Japan and his 'debt of honor' excuse. Shaking his head he looked back at Ronald a smile coming to his face. "She's going to grow up to be a fine young woman one of these days Ronald just like you grew up to be a fine young man. I want you to know that me and your mother still miss you and we're still proud of you. I'll see you soon son and I'm..." He didn't finish his statement instead rising off the ground. For the first time he turned around and walked away without apologizing. Feeling water on his cheek as he walked away Robert sighed regretting that the nice day would be ruined by rain.

Walking back towards his car he wiped at his face before opening the door for the drive back home. The same drive that he had preformed for the last few years and that he could do with his eyes shut.

_The End_

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A/N: Well there another story within the Russian incident universe and an entry into the June contest at Hope you all enjoyed it and as always don't hesitate to drop a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own KP.


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